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Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions
The Ultimate Tournament of Champions is a special 15-week single-elimination tournament involving a total of 145 contestants. It began airing on February 9, 2005 and concluded on May 25, 2005, covering 76 shows in total. The tournament, whose contestants had all been either winners of past tournaments or former five-time champions, was designed to produce two contestants who would face off in a three-game, cumulative-score final against legendary Jeopardy! ''champion Ken Jennings, who had won the most money in Jeopardy! regular play history at the time and who (entering the tournament) had set a new all-time television game show winnings record of $2,520,700 in 74 games; the three finalists would then play in a three-game final for a grand prize of $2,000,000, the largest cash prize the show has ever offered in a tournament. The tournament was won by Brad Rutter, with Jennings finishing second and collecting $500,000, while Jerome Vered finished third and took home $250,000. The tournament's contestants won a combined grand total of $5,604,413. Tournament format 145 contestants participated in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions; they consisted of five-time champions and tournament winners from the show's first 21 seasons. Contestants that were not tournament winners were invited in order of money won on the program until a full field was filled. Players who competed before the show doubled its prize amounts had their winnings adjusted as appropriate. Despite this, not all former five time champions were invited to compete. Note: Totals given are from regular play, five games unless noted. Tournament winnings are used instead if player initially appeared in a tournament. Undefeated champions from Seasons 14–19 won cars. From Seasons 14–17, undefeated champions had their choice of one or two Chevrolet cars. Seasons 18–19 undefeated champions won Jaguars. College Champions won Dodge cars from 1993 until 1994, Volvo cars from 1995 until 2003. Jeopardy! went to a straight cash format in 2003 and eliminated automobile prizes for Season 20. Contestant with bye to Final Round As the most successful contestant in ''Jeopardy! regular season history, Ken Jennings received a bye to the three-game championship. Contestants with bye to Round 2 Members of the "Nifty Nine" were selected based on records set in their Jeopardy! careers. Only Rutter and Spangenberg advanced beyond their initial round (they all received an extra $15,000 at the end of their games). Contestants who started in Round 1 135 of the 145 contestants involved in the tournament started in the first round. Tournament results The tournament's twenty highest finishers are shown below in order of prize money won. Round 1 results Round 1, which started on February 9, 2005 and ended on April 12, 2005, featured 135 contestants competing for entry into Round 2. Unlike most Jeopardy! tournaments, in which only the final rounds are played for cash equal to the value of winners' scores, the winners of every match received their scores as winnings (or the guaranteed minimum for that round, whichever was greater). In addition, for each round, there were no "wild card" spots for the non-winners; it was "win or go home". Round 2 results Round 2, which started on April 13 and finished on May 6, featured the 45 winners from Round 1 as well as nine new contestants. Round 3 (Quarterfinal) results Round 3, which began on May 9 and ended on May 16, featured the "Elite 18" (Round 2 winners) competing for entry into the semifinals. Round 4 (Semifinal) results Round 4, which began on May 17 and ended on May 20, featured the six winners from Round 3 competing in two-game matches for entry into the finals. Round 5 (Final) results Round 5, which aired on May 23, 24, and 25, featured Round 4 champions Brad Rutter and Jerome Vered competing against Ken Jennings in a three-game final for $2,000,000. Rutter won the match in a runaway and displaced Jennings as television's largest game show winner in history at the time (Rutter, by virtue of the tournament set up and the elimination of Bernie Cullen in the first round, was the only player who could have done so). However, Jennings later reclaimed that distinction by winning $500,000 on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" in October 2008, only to lose it again after coming in second to Rutter in the Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades (May 2014). References Category:Tournaments Category:Events